Defense attorney Philip Lauer claims Franklin Barndt wanted to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights rather than testify before a Northampton County grand jury last year regarding the murder of Miguel Aponte Jr.

Barndt's previous attorney advised him not to make any self-incriminating statements before the grand jury and told the Northampton County District Attorney's Office as much, Lauer said. Barndt made clear he did not want to testify, Lauer said, but he did so after speaking with a prosecutor.

"Such a meeting with the defendant and encouragement to ignore the advice of his counsel was inappropriate and constitutes a violation of his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights," Lauer argued in a written brief filed late Thursday.

Lauer briefly rehashed his complaints before Northampton County President Judge Stephen Baratta during a status conference this morning. He stressed he will not be ready for the trial scheduled for June because he is still reviewing more than 800 pages of evidence he recently received from the district attorney's office. He has yet to receive recordings of Barndt's prison phone calls, according to court documents.

Assistant District Attorney Tatum Wilson did not object to a trial delay and said her office has offered a plea deal to Barndt. She has not received a counter offer, she said.

"We are ready to go forward on this case. We are still proceeding with the investigation into the co-conspirator," Wilson said, adding prosecutors are calling more witnesses before the new grand jury.

Investigators accuse Barndt of conspiring with Jacob Holmes Jr. to kill Aponte inside the Easton Cafe on March 30, 2009. Aponte was released from prison three months earlier for his involvement in a 2006 Wilson Borough shooting where Holmes was wounded and Jason Oliver was killed. Aponte was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a firearms charge.

During last year's grand jury investigation, Barndt testified he told Holmes he could find Aponte at the end of the counter at the Northampton Street bar, according to court documents. After a masked Holmes went inside and gunned down Aponte, the two met up at the Brick House Tavern, where Barndt took the weapon and later threw it into the Delaware River, Barndt testified, according to court documents.

While authorities have identified Holmes as the shooter, he has not been charged with a crime. Wilson suggested that, in return for any deal, Barndt would have to reveal everything that happened the night of Aponte's death.

"The Commonwealth believes Mr. Barndt has not given the whole story," she said.